Here are the traditional placements for handicap stones under Japanese Rules. Other rules, such as Chinese rules, allow free handicap placement.
The weaker player plays Black without komi.
Joshual000: I believe upper left is left open for 'polite-ness' shown by Black to White (Black's 1st move is the one held by tradition - not White's)
JoB: i think this is the european version. as far as i know the japanese put the 5th (and 7th) stone on one of the 10-4 points,
kokiri - this is how the japanese play 5 stones,